DVD Watch
A secretary of defense speaks his mind

By Mark Rahner
Seattle Times DVD writer

CLAIRE FOLGER Vietnam War-era Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara is the subject of the fascinating Errol Morris documentary "The Fog of War."

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A man learns some things being secretary of defense during a disastrous war, and it's worth hearing him out.

Figure we've heard about most of what Rummy has to say. But Robert McNamara, it turns out, is fascinating with the right music. The Oscar-winning documentary, "The Fog of War" (Columbia Tristar, PG-13), couldn't be more timely or essential. Take McNamara's Lesson 3, for instance — paraphrased somewhat for Today's Youth: If we can't get other nations with similar values and interests to throw down alongside us, we shouldn't bust a giant cap on an enemy.

The architect of the Vietnam War under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson looks like a Shar-Pei. He splays his fingers like an octogenarian gangsta rapper by way of comic Lewis Black. He lectures. He expiates. He recollects. He philosophizes. He chokes up. Combine it all with director Errol Morris' layering of vintage clips and effects, and a mesmerizing Philip Glass score. You get the kind of great documentary that a good but cheapo one like "Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary" could have been.

The complex old man admits he could have been judged a war criminal for helping plan the firebombing of Japanese cities if we hadn't won World War II. He goes through his presidencies of the Ford Motor Co. and World Bank, and latter-day confrontations with former adversaries who teach him that: 1) We were closer to oblivion than we knew in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and 2) We had no chance with the Vietnamese, who really, intensely didn't regard us as the good guys.

Any journalist knows how tough it is to cut interesting material from an interview, and the DVD has 24 extra scenes which aren't the typical directorial narcissism plaguing most discs. McNamara recalls his wife receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Carter before she died, and of learning that some itchy Russian sub commanders didn't know for several days that the Cuban Missile Crisis was over.

Another winner: "In America" (Fox, PG-13): An Irish family sneaks across the U.S. border to live in '80s New York, struggling with poverty and grief for a lost child. Oscar noms went to director Jim ("My Left Foot") Sheridan and his two daughters for the genuinely moving and not too mawkish screenplay, Samantha Morton for best actress as the mom, and Djimon Hounsou as the dying artist they all adopt; but don't deprive dad Paddy Considine of his propz. The disc has Sheridan's commentary, deleted scenes, a not-too-different alternate ending and a making-of doc.

"Scary Movie 3" (Dimension, PG-13): "Airplane!" helmsman David Zucker takes over the series with star Anna Faris, spoofing "The Ring," "Signs," "8 Mile," and others with a 1-in-8 laugh success rate. Gobs of extras include a long alternate ending that has the rapper hero turning into the Hulk and beating up aliens.

"Van Helsing: The London Assignment" (Universal, unrated): The asinine feature film lends itself much better to this half-hour cartoon treatment, with the monster-hunter (the voice of Hugh Jackman) after a Jekyll/Hyde sucking the life-force out of victims for royal skullduggery. Too gruesome for kids, though; lots of cross-promotion for the movie and video game.

While we're on dumb blockbusters: The "Independence Day Limited Edition" (Fox, 1996, PG-13) arrives in time for the theatrical release of director Roland Emmerich's "The Day After Tomorrow" in a moronic special edition with nine minutes of restored footage, and the dopey original edition. Includes commentary by the director, producer and special-effects folks.

"Have Gun Will Travel — The Complete First Season" (Paramount, 1957 unrated) outdraws this week's passel o' TV collections. The landmark golden-age Western features another complex character: Paladin (Richard Boone). The name means hero, but it's not always clear from the outset whose side he's on. He's a San Francisco dandy who puts on black duds for the tough work, laughs at inferior challengers, sides with the downtrodden, is professorially well-read, and is on the uglier side of sexy. The DVDs are laconic with extras but do mention that "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry wrote a number of episodes, including one in which Paladin outwits desert-racers by bringing a camel.
 
Other unrated TV: "The X-Files — The Complete Ninth Season" (Fox): Includes the great paranormal series' two-hour disappointment of a series finale. Right when Agents Reyes and Doggett (Annabeth Gish, Robert Patrick) were starting to grow on me. But David Duchovny says there's going to be a second feature film, so you can still believe.

The first seasons of "The Jetsons" (Warner) and "Jonny Quest" (Warner): Can you believe both of these pop-culture staples from Hanna-Barbera had original runs of just one measly year? If you ever wanted to get a look at the voice behind George Jetson, see George O'Hanlon as the perpetually put-upon Joe McDoakes in one of the shorts on the Marx Brothers collection mentioned in last week's column.

The most annoyingly drawn-out farewell in human history continues with the "Friends" (Warner) series finale hitting DVD just days after its broadcast. And goodnight, John-Boy: "The Waltons — The Complete First season" (Paramount).

Also new this week: "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" (Shout Factory, TV-14), the worthy doc about '70s filmmaking. From Kino: Krzysztof Kieslowski's 1988 "A Short Film About Killing" and "A Short Film About Love."

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com